1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is concerned with an improved protective cover particularly designed for use in connection with sophisticated, professional quality camera equipment, typically of the type making use of an elongated telephoto lens. More particularly, it is concerned with such a protective cover which does not detract in any way from the optical qualities of the camera or inhibit fast, accurate focusing or other equipment manipulations, all while giving complete protection against the effects of bad weather.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Professional photographers employed by newspapers or magazines often make use of very expensive camera equipment which is far more sophisticated than the simple cameras used by laymen. To give but one example, when photographing athletic events such as football games, such professionals would normally use a tripod or monopod-mounted assembly in the form of a camera body equipped with a motor drive, together with an elongated telephoto lens. The latter would normally include an axially rotatable focusing barrel and, in many instances, a forwardly extending, stationary tubular lens hood.
It also sometimes happens that equipment of the type described above must be used during periods of rain or other inclement weather. This presents a real difficulty for the professional photographer, inasmuch as his expensive equipment can be damaged if exposed to such weather. As a consequence, it has been known in the past for photographers to attempt to alleviate this problem through the use of crude, makeshift expedients, e.g., placing the camera equipment at least partially within a plastic bag or the like. These attempts have met with little success, however, because they inevitably involve covering the camera equipment to the extent of inhibiting use thereof, or conversely providing insufficient weather protection.
It has also been known in the past to provide various types of camera cases and covers for specialized purposes. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,033,392 describes a weather proofing device for cameras in the form of a flexible and transparent bag. While such a device does provide a measure of weather protection, it is deficient inasmuch as the optics of the camera equipment are inevitably affected. That is to say, the user must look through the plastic bag to use the view finder, and this would make it difficult to accurately focus the lens. By the same token, images to be photographed can be distorted inasmuch as all light must first pass through the bag before entering the lens. These considerations take on special significance in the case of a professional photographer, whose livelihood depends upon the taking of sharp, accurate photographs.
There is therefore a decided need in the art for an improved cover for large camera equipment which does not in any way detract from the optical qualities of the equipment and permits the user to accurately and easily operate the equipment without undue hindrance.